Emporia State: Silent No More!

February 16, 2013

Guests at Emporia State University’s Friday evening Sesquicentennial Gala had plenty to celebrate.

Along with experiencing the unique entertainment and invigorating social atmosphere, gala attendees learned that Emporia State is embarking on Now and Forever: The Campaign for Emporia State University. With a working goal of $45.3 million, it’s the largest, most comprehensive campaign in Emporia State’s history.

On top of that announcement came word that this same campaign is well on the way toward achieving its goal.

“The support we’ve achieved in this effort is exciting and humbling,” said DenaSue Potestio, Emporia State Foundation president. Continuing, Potestio told the crowd that the campaign has already surpassed the 20 percent mark, with $9.3 million committed to the effort.

“I am deeply privileged to partner with Dr. Michael Shonrock, our Foundation Board of Trustees, our alumni, and our community to lead this campaign,” Potestio continued.

Typically, Potestio said, fundraising campaigns operate what’s called a “silent” phase prior to their official opening. But in Emporia State’s case, a unique approach has both transformed the campaign and given it a signature phrase that was first heard at Friday night’s gala over the peals of a bell rung by Shonrock, Emporia State’s president.

“We’re silent no more!” said Shonrock, invoking the image of Silent Joe, the iconic Emporia State bell tower which contains the bell that hung in the administration building of what was then Kansas State Normal School (KSN).

“We should be calling him ‘Victory Joe’!” Shonrock declared.

“We are imagining the Emporia State of the future. We’ve been changing lives for 150 years, and now it’s time to anticipate what comes next,” Shonrock continued.

“We’re confident that our alumni and friends will rally to achieve our goals. We’re moving very fast, and taking that quantum leap forward,” said Potestio.

Now and Forever: The Campaign for Emporia State University engages alumni, students, faculty, staff and friends in a mission to envision and create.

At the campaign’s core are 18 Big Ideas, each of them the work of vision, dreams, and forward-thinking practicality about the future of workforce demands. They’re reflections of a simple but elegant philosophy that is transforming Emporia State: recruit students, teach and retain them, encourage them to graduate—and ultimately put them on a path to a solid career.

For more information on Now and Forever gift opportunities, contact the Emporia State University Foundation at (620) 341-5440.